Objective measures of situation awareness in a simulated medical environment

One major limitation in the use of human patient simulators is a lack of objective, validated measures of human performance. Objective measures are necessary if simulators are to be used to evaluate the skills and training of medical practitioners and teams or to evaluate the impact of new processes or equipment design on overall system performance. Situation awareness (SA) refers to a person's perception and understanding of their dynamic environment. This awareness and comprehension is critical in making correct decisions that ultimately lead to correct actions in medical care settings. An objective measure of SA may be more sensitive and diagnostic than traditional performance measures. This paper reviews a theory of SA and discusses the methods required for developing an objective measure of SA within the context of a simulated medical environment. Analysis and interpretation of SA data for both individual and team performance in health care are also presented.